An Unexpected Twist
by schizoferb
Summary: What? No. No. This was not happening to her. Not to Captain Amelia Smollett, not on a voyage to Treasure Planet. And NOT, she repeated, NOT with a bumbling Canid astrophysicist. A retelling of the movie, but with an (you guessed it) unexpected twist. Rated T for safety, mostly.
1. News

**Author's Note: **I know. Another retelling of the movie from the Doctor and the Captain's points of view. Yawn. Snore. BUT this is different. I was actually surprised that I haven't seen one of these before.

Enjoy! Read and Review please!

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It had been almost nine months since the R.L.S. Legacy set out on its voyage to find Treasure Planet. The ship had just passed the Coral Galaxy. According to the map, if everything went according to plan, they should arrive at their destination within four months.

_Thank God. _Amelia wasn't sure how much more she could take. A rowdy crew, a cheeky cabin boy, and a bumbling astrophysicist. Especially the bumbling astrophysicist. The minute she first laid eyes on him in his disgusting mustard spacesuit, she knew he would cause problems for her. Dr. Doppler was especially up to his small floppy ears in hot water with her today. She had ordered Mr. Arrow to summon Doppler to her stateroom and bar all others from interrupting. So far, Arrow had done half of his job.

She leaned against her desk and rubbed her temples. _Where in the name of Procyon is he?_

A soft knock came in from outside. "C…c…captain?"

"Yes, Doctor, come in."

Dr. Doppler obliged, softly closing the door behind him. "You…you wanted to see me, Ame-Captain?" He fiddled nervously with his russet overcoat, nearly ripping off the cuff when he flubbed addressing her.

"Yes. Doctor, sit down." He did immediately and she continued. "We need to talk."

The color drained from his face. Amelia felt tears welling up in the corners of her eyes. No. No. This wasn't happening. Not now. She abruptly stood and turned away toward the window. He was not going to see her cry. Not today.

"C…captain? Is something wrong?" Doppler asked, panic rising in his voice with every syllable.

Amelia didn't answer. The tears spilled over.

"Amelia. Tell me. Please. Are you alright?" He had resorted to her first name. His concern was genuine, to say the least.

"Delbert…," she replied, using the same personal address he had. "I…I…no. No, I can't do this."

"Captain, with all due respect, I'm already here, so you might as well tell me, rather than call me again another time. It would be more efficient to tell me now."

Amelia sighed. He does have a point. She turned to him, a tear running down her left cheek. "Delbert. Please try to remain calm, although I'm certainly doing a poor job of it. But…last month…when we…engaged, per se, in sexual intercourse…" She could see the anxiety in his eyes. His beautiful brown eyes… "Long story short, we're going to litter."

He stared at her, eyes gone blank, mouth agape.

"Doppler! Did you hear me?! I'm going to have a litter. _Your_ litter."

He continued staring.

"Goddammit!" she yelled. "Say something!"

"You're…you're…you're… Oh God. Oh my God, Amelia, I am so sorry. I am so so sorry. I thought… All the tests I have ever taken have shown results consistent with near-sterility. For years, I thought this could never happen."

"Well, Delbert, it did! It DID happen! And it's obviously yours; I haven't been having intercourse with anyone else on this voyage!" She stopped to breathe. Doppler had stood to try and comfort her, but her sudden outburst had nailed him to the spot. Sweat ran down his face. He looked as though he was about to have a panic attack. "I…I'm sorry. I didn't mean to…"

"No," Doppler replied. "I understand. You have been placed in an unfair situation. This is my entire fault. If I could have just kept myself under control, I should have known better. I'm not some randy street mongrel; I'm a grown and educated scientist. And you, you are one of the most beautiful and strong women I know, how I could do this to you, I'm so sorry…"

"It's not all your fault. I was the one in heat; I seduced you. But we can't change the past. What's done is done. Now all we need to do is decide on some course of action."

"Action, Captain?"

"Yes, action. Because the way this voyage is shaping up, we won't be going home for over a year. And a typical Felinid littering lasts for about seven months. Even Hawkins can do that math. What are we going to do?"

"Ca..can we discuss this in the morning? I'm sorry, I just, I think we'll be able to think more clearly with a full night's sleep."

Amelia nodded. Doppler nodded back and shuffled out of the room. Amelia locked the door and placed her forehead against the cool metal. She and Doppler had gotten themselves into quite a predicament. What were they going to do now?

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What indeed? Chapter two will be up soon! Read and Review please!


	2. What now?

**Author's note: **So I may be re-writing chapter one soon. I don't know, both of Amelia and Doppler seemed very OOC to me…what do you guys think?

Anyways, here's Chapter Two: What Now?

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Doppler sat up in his bed. He ran his hands through his hair and sighed. How did he get himself into this predicament? He thought when the Captain summoned him to her stateroom that it was going to be to punish him for some minor infraction. Instead, she told him she was pregnant, a direct result of their passionate liaison one month ago.

Pregnant. It sounded so foreign, like some bizarre language he knew nothing about. Children had never even been on his radar before. He thought that he could never have them, not only because of all of the tests he had taken (which were obviously wrong!) but also because he never seemed to attract any women for any sort of relationship that was more than platonic.

Which was why, when Amelia invited him to her stateroom for supper, he had thought nothing of it. It was going to be a friendly dinner; that was all. He paid no attention to how much wine either of them were drinking, and when Amelia leaned over the table so he could see directly down her shirt to whisper in his ear sexual offers, he obliged. Had he been sober, he would have immediately deduced that this sudden sexual pursuit was merely a side effect of the Felinid female reproductive cycle, and he would have declined politely. But, the alcohol had inhibited all better judgments on his part, including the use of contraceptive devices.

But the real question now was what they were going to do. Hopefully, Amelia would come up with something. His sleep-deprived brain would be of no help.

The whistle blew from above deck for roll call. Doppler groaned as he forced himself to his feet, down the hallway, out onto the deck, and to his spot in line in between Misters Crex and Flayvoon. After roll, he would request private conference with the Captain.

No sooner had he arrived in line, Mr. Arrow and Amelia walked out in front of the crew. "Stand ready, gentlemen!" Arrow commanded.

Amelia walked silently down the roll, Mr. Arrow following behind. She looked surprisingly composed. _What do you expect? She's not just going to shut down with a voyage and crew to look after. _Doppler watched her as she went down the line, inspecting each crew member for any flaw. Her face bore no hint of what she was thinking and what she was going through.

Finally, she ended role at Mister Thornbuckle and dismissed the crew. Doppler followed her.

"Captain, if I may, may I speak with you in your stateroom?"

"Yes, Doctor, you may. Arrow, oversee the morning routine."

"Aye Captain." Arrow saluted and yelled for the crew to continue on with their morning chores.

Amelia walked silently down the hallway and into her stateroom. Doppler followed a few paces behind. As he watched her walk, he noticed a difference in her stance. Usually she walked with a controlled gait, but now she walked even more so. As if through her stance she could deny what was happening inside her.

Doppler closed the door. They looked at each other in silence.

"Well, Doctor? What did you want?" Amelia asked after a few moments of quiet.

Confused, Doppler replied, "We need to talk about…our…litter." The words staggered out of his mouth. His tongue had trouble finding and forming the correct phrasing.

Amelia looked down at her desk. "Oh. Yes. Right. That."

Doppler scoffed in disbelief. "What do you mean 'that'? Amelia, you are going to have a baby! Probably more than one, as is the tendency of our two species! No matter how much you trivialize that fact it isn't going away. So I suggest we be honest with each other while we figure this out. Because pretending isn't going to solve anything."

She looked at him with wide eyes. "Very perceptive of you, Doctor. You are correct, I have been wrong to attempt to imagine this away. But if I do that, it is only because I have absolutely no idea what direction to go in. I've never been anywhere close to this situation before."

"That makes two of us, Captain."

Amelia smiled. Doppler smiled back.

"What do you think we should do?" Amelia asked.

"Honestly, Captain, I was too distressed trying to comprehend whether or not this was actually happening last night that I didn't think of anything, much less sleep."

"I barely slept myself, between the nausea and trying to understand the situation."

"Have you been ill for long?"

"No, not until recently."

"Ah. Well. That's good," Doppler murmured. Without thinking, he went to Amelia and placed one arm around her back and laid the other hand on her stomach. Within one second he could tell. _Yes, she's pregnant. And it's mine. _Her stomach was slightly firmer then before and, he may have been imagining it, but he could have sworn he felt her womb flutter against his hand.

Within another second, Amelia pulled away. "Doctor. What are you doing?"

Doppler blushed a shade to match his coat. "I'm sorry, Captain, I don't know what came over me. I won't do that again."

"Thank you. Now, the way I see it, we have a lot of different options. I prefer one, two are less desirable, and the last is impossible."

"I see. What do you prefer?"

"I would prefer to carry this littering to term, then put up however many there wind up being for adoption."

Doppler blinked in surprise. "Adoption?"

"Yes, adoption. It seems to be the most humane thing to do."

"You…you don't want to keep your own litter?"

Amelia laughed. "Of course not! We'd be miserable! I would have to retire, and I can't stay tied down for long, I would go insane!"

"I could help you."

"Doctor, that is a very sweet offer, but I'm afraid that you would be miserable too."

Doppler's ear twitched. _Miserable is the last thing I would be. Not if I was with you._ "What about aborting the pregnancy?"

The color drained from Amelia's face. "Excuse me for a moment please." She went back into her bathroom.

_That was odd…what could she be… _The sound of vomiting interrupted his thoughts.

_Oh…_

Amelia returned, wiping her mouth with a paper towel. She threw the towel down the incinerator. "Forgive me. I can't seem to keep any amount of food down."

"I understand."

"But as I was going to say before I felt so nauseated, aborting the pregnancy is impossible. For one, we won't return home in time to be legally able to have one done, and also, I don't want to risk my life on a botched operation on deck."

"Of course, of course. I understand completely. Does anyone else know about your pregnancy?"

"No, and I want to keep it that way. If this crew found out about this, I wouldn't hear the end of it. They would show the lewdest and most profane sides of their personalities in front of me, rather than behind my back like I know that they do. If you even hint anything to anyone, including Mr. Hawkins, I will personally make sure that this can't happen again."

Doppler nodded. "I won't tell. But you will begin to show around the fourth month of your pregnancy, depending on how many are there."

"We will cross that bridge when we get there. Until then, I want you to treat me as you would normally."

"Yes. But what should we do in the way of prenatal care?"

"I believe there are natural supplements among Mr. Silver's cookware. Leave that to me. Now, I believe we should return to the deck. People may begin to become suspicious."

"I agree. If you need anything, please, let me know. Good morning."

"Good morning, Doctor."

Doppler kissed his hand and held it towards Amelia's stomach. "Goodbye."

"Don't do that."

"Why not?"

"It will be harder to give them up if we bond with them."

"Understood." Doppler nodded to her, and walked out. He began walking down the hall.

_Well. That was rather reductive…productive! At least now we have a basic plan of what to do. _Doppler looked down at the hand he touched her stomach with. It was still warm. _These babies, however many there are, are mine. They know my touch. This is the least logical thing in the world. It flies in the face of all proven science. _

Doppler arrived at the door to the deck.

_But they love me. And I love them. I only wish Amelia loved us too._

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Poor Dr. Doppler. Any suggestions?

Please review!


	3. Keeping It Secret I

Oh my, this story has been much better received than I expected! Thank you!

Please enjoy this next chapter.

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Three weeks went by. Amelia mentioned nothing to Doppler about any of the recent goings on between them, except when he visited her to check up on her health.

_Probably all for the best. Wouldn't want anything to go wrong outside of her body while she was taking care of what's going on on the inside! _Doppler thought with a hint of frustration. He often thought, although now it was more along the lines of Amelia and the children she was going to have rather than astrophysics and the voyage.

He wondered how many there were. He pondered whether they'd be all girls, all boys, or somewhere in between. He worried that something could be going wrong at any moment. He thought about the remote possibility of cross-breeding. And if the fetus (or fetuses) did not cross-breed, would they be Felinids or Canids? How would everyone react? These and other anxieties swam through his mind in a constant barrage of mental exhaustion.

Surprisingly, all this worrying wasn't picked up on by the crew. Doppler would have thought at least Jim would have noticed something. After all, he felt like a complete wreck on the inside. _And doesn't that normally show on the outside too?_

But, all things considered, it was fairly easy to keep her…_condition _a secret. Amelia did a good majority of the pretending herself, and all he had to do was follow along.

He both admired and scorned her for this. On one hand, he admired her for not allowing the nausea, cramps, and cravings that she complained to him about overpower her, but on the other, he wasn't absolutely sure she had even accepted that she was going to have children, despite the increasingly obvious signs to the contrary.

Not to say keeping secrets was easy all of the time. There had been a great many close calls.

One morning, he went onto the deck to see Amelia up on one of the masts with Mr. Hands, mending a fraying rigging. She was easily twenty or thirty feet off the ground! Without any lifeline! If she fell… it was all Doppler could do to keep from screaming at her, hoisting himself up there, and dragging her down himself.

About a week earlier, she had spent the entire day in her quarters. The crew whispered and wondered where she was. The ship almost stalled to a standstill. Mr. Arrow responded to this by yelling, "The captain is feeling unwell because she is disgusted by the appalling lack of any sort of competency on this ship! In fact, you all are making me ill at this moment! Carry on!" The crew grumbled back to work, and the voyage progressed as planned.

Most frightening was the encounter that Doppler had just had with Mr. Scroop.

That evening, he went to visit Amelia. She had been complaining about stomach pain, which he soothed with a cup of solaris seed tea. As he crossed the deck to return to his own quarters, he heard a hissing from above him. He started in fright and looked up. Mr. Scroop was crawling down the rigging towards him.

"Hello Doctor," he hissed.

"Ah, good evening Mr. Scroop," Doppler replied, uneasy. _What was he doing awake at this hour? _

"Fine evening, isssn't it?"

"Yes. Very nice. Perfect seafaring weather."

"Ssssspeaking of perfect ssssseafaring; how is the Captain?"

_Oh no. Had he been spying on them? _"F…fine. How else would she be?"

"I've jussst noticcced that she's been acting…bizzzzzare lately. Any idea what that would be about?" Mr. Scroop smiled. His teeth gleamed in the starlight.

Doppler gulped. "Just a stomachache, that's all. A cup of solaris seed tea has impoved her intensely…immensely! Yes, she should be fine in the morning."

Scroop chuckled. "I ssssee. Thank you Doctor. What ever would we do without your exxxpertissse on board?"

Doppler chuckled nervously. "Yes…whatever would we do. Goodnight Mr. Scroop." He backed away to his cabin, careful not to turn his back on the Arachnopod.

"Yesss. Goodnight Doctor. Oh, and sssay hello to Missster Hawkinsss for me."

Doppler nodded and went back to his cabin.

The minute he shut the door, he exhaled and sunk to the ground. _What was that about? How long has Mr. Scroop been there? Has he been spying on us this entire time? Does he know everything? And has he told the rest of the crew?_

If he was correct, if Mr. Scroop knew everything, Amelia would never forgive him. And any chance of her even associating, much less falling in love, with him would be gone. And so would his newborn children. Even if he tried to get custody of them, the Galactic Council almost never awarded custody to single fathers. And the adoption process was tricky. Unless given permission by the parents, he would not be allowed into contact with them. Which is what he so desperately wanted. And he wanted it with Amelia.

Dejected, he crawled into his bed and fell asleep. If there was a storm coming, he may as well be well rested for it.


	4. Keeping It Secret II

Hi everyone! I hope you enjoy this chapter! Please review, I love getting comments, but I love constructive criticism most of all! Especially in the chapters from Amelia's perspective…any thoughts?

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Amelia glanced out into the Etherium and sighed. The cool night air blew up onto the deck and whipped against her. Two months ago her worst nightmare became reality. Not the littering, that was a side effect. No, she lost to her animal instincts.

Normally during the piques of her cycle she locked herself in her quarters and had no contact with the outside world. But this time, something she could only describe as peculiar happened. Rather than sticking to her normal plan, she invited someone into her room. And that someone was Dr. Doppler.

_Why Doppler?, _she asked herself. _He's nothing like my usual type. But then again, all the other men on the ship are underage or unsavory… At least I didn't extend the offer to Mr. Hawkins, Mr. Scroop, or god forbid Mr. Silver. That would have made this situation thoroughly more unpleasant. _

Not to say that the past month hadn't been unpleasant. Nearly every morning, she woke up feeling ill. One morning it was so bad that she needed to stay in her cabin for the entire day. Arrow visited her, but as far as she knew he only saw her as having an unexpected bout of ship-sickness. Doppler, however, fretted over her when he visited. He rushed around her quarters trying to make her as absolutely comfortable as possible, pillows, blankets, warm water, the whole shebang, all while looking at her stomach as much as her eyes.

She hated to admit it, but he was fairly adorable when he did that. Something about him worrying over her, like her older brother Nathan used to, made her feel tremendously loved. The way he looked at her, the way he spoke to her when no one was around, the way he went to whatever lengths necessary to make sure everything was alright. Somehow it all felt right.

Amelia smirked. _Don't be ridiculous. It's just the hormones talking. Wait until these little kittens start kicking, then you won't love him so much then! _

After all, it was natural for her to assume they were going to be Felinids, any species' offspring are more likely to be the same species as their mother, or so Doppler had told her one evening after making her solaris seed tea to ease some particularly ghastly cramps.

_But, _Amelia thought, _why should it matter? It isn't like I'm planning on keeping them. No matter how hard Doppler tries to convince me otherwise. _He never gave up. Whenever he was with her he would mention something involving the children. Some nights they would be sleeping, some nights reading, and other nights playing together. 'Imagine how happy they're going to be,' he would say while trying to care for her, 'out here in the world with each other.' To which she would reply, 'Yes, they will be very happy with whoever chooses to adopt them.' Doppler would nod, and then change the subject to anything else.

She could see he hated the idea of putting them up for adoption. But what else were they going to do? They were too far away from any charted planet to visit a physician and…abort (even now she was beset with nausea whenever she thought or mentioned it) the fetuses. Doing it on the ship in secret was too dangerous, what with no licensed physician on the ship, and there was no way she was going to trust anyone who wasn't licensed with her body. And if she actually kept them, they would all be miserable. Between caring for them, keeping up with finances, and not going stircrazy, there was no way that would end well for anyone. They would be miserable, she would be miserable, and if Doppler chose to help like he offered, he would be miserable too. Not to mention the social isolation they would all receive by bearing the litter out of wedlock.

"Captain!"

She turned to see Mr. Arrow saluting her. "Yes Mr. Arrow?"

"Permission to request an audience with you?"

"Permission granted."

"Captain, if I may…"

"Arrow, no one else on the ship is awake. Please, you don't have to be formal with me now. Come over here, so we can talk without yelling."

"Of course," Arrow nodded and walked over to her.

"What did you want to talk about?"

"Just some ship business."

"What sort of business?"

"Oh, the usual. However, there have been some bizarre thefts recently."

Amelia's ear twitched. "Thefts?"

"Yes, it seems that Mr. Silver has noticed a few foodstuffs have gone missing. Jemseed, Rathian squid, purps, pickles, and a lot of other things. Odd items to steal, considering every member of this crew gets their fair share of rations."

"Yes, quite." She could see herself sneaking under the cover of darkness into Silver's kitchen to satisfy her cravings and keep her and her offspring healthy. She hadn't thought that anyone noticed. Until now. "I believe that we are going to have to keep a closer guard, lest we find ourselves robbed starved."

Arrow nodded in agreement. "How are you feeling, Amelia?"

Amelia blinked at the abruptness of the question. "Fine, thank you." _Did he know? _"Why do you ask?"

"Last weekend you were ill. Ship-sickness, I thought."

Amelia exhaled. _Perhaps he didn't know._

"But just today I remembered that when we were on our first voyage, and the financier vomited the entire way, you told me that you did not get ship-sickness."

"There is a first time for everything, I suppose…"

"Amelia. What's wrong?"

"Nothing, Arrow, don't be ridiculous. Just a bout of bad luck."

"Amelia, as your oldest friend, I assure you, anything you tell me will not travel farther then my mind."

"Arrow…"

"Please. If there's something wrong, I want to know."

Amelia bit her lip. Should she tell him? What would he say? She opened her mouth to speak…

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OOOOOH Cliffhanger!

But seriously, sorry it's taken so long to update this. Life is funny sometimes.

Please review!


	5. Arrow

"I'm going to have a litter."

Arrow looked at her for a moment. "Pardon me, ma'am?"

Amelia gulped. _Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. _"I'm pregnant. I'm going to have a litter."

"Amelia…I'm sorry. If…if you don't mind me asking, with who?"

"Dr. Doppler. Two months ago, I invited him into my quarters. I was in heat, we drank an entire bottle of red wine, and then we slept together. And now I'm going to have his litter."

"So you are planning on carrying them to term?"

"Of course. I'm not going to kill myself trying to terminate them. And besides, Doppler would never let me. He's trying to convince me to keep them."

"Are you not going to?"

"Arrow, with all due respect, you know me. We went to Academy together. I could never stay in one place then, and I surely cannot do that now. Just being cooped in that cabin for one day I nearly lost my sanity. Imagine me doing that nonstop!"

"With all respect, Amelia, there are worse people to be in this situation with. Perhaps there was a reason that you invited the Doctor instead of another crew member."

"Oh my good lord, not you too! That is exactly the same line that he uses. 'Everything happens for a reason, Amelia, perhaps this did too.' Honestly, it makes me gag. This was an accident, no more, no less. He's just being so thick! I don't understand this attachment he has with them, these lumps of cells that have just begun to look like something that could someday be alive."

"Amelia, in all blunt honesty, I don't understand the lack of attachment you have for them."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, for starters, I don't think any healthy mother would ever refer to her developing children as 'lumps of cells.'"

"Arrow…"

"And it doesn't sound like the two of you have spoken to each other openly about your options. It sounds like you made a decision, told him your decision, and refuse to accept or even discuss any other option."

"Arrow, don't be absurd. Of course I've thought about the other options."

"But have you and Doppler discussed them? Do you know how he feels?"

"No. But I know he wants to keep them. It's all he talks about. Indirectly, of course, I think he's afraid that I'm going to throw him overboard."

Arrow exhaled deeply. "You need to talk to him."

"Arrow!"

"Amelia, please, listen to me. You need to talk to him. The two of you need to reach a decision together. If you don't, the consequences could be devastating."

Amelia looked out into the Etherium.

"At least do it for me."

She sighed. "Fine. I will speak with him tomorrow."

"Thank you."

"But, until then, not a word to him or the crew."

Arrow tipped his hat. "Of course, Captain." He went down to his quarters.

Amelia watched him go, then did something she had never done before.

She touched her stomach, the barrier between the developing fetuses and the outside world.


	6. Supernova

Alright everyone. I wanna know what you think. Am I on the right track with this story? Way out of it? Do you think I'm crazy? Please tell me!

Wow this chapter turned out longer than I expected. This is just such a dramatic scene!

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It had been a few days since Doppler's encounter with Mr. Scroop. Since then, he watched everyone, even Jim, with equal unease. Who knew? Did Scroop tell anyone? When would Amelia confront him about all this? These questions and more flew around inside his head as he sat writing his record of the adventure at his desk in his quarters.

Suddenly, a jolt wracked the ship and nearly threw Doppler against his wall. "What in the world…?" he muttered to himself, holding his head and rising to his feet. From above, he heard Mr. Arrow yell "All hands on deck!" Shaking off his shock, he ran up to the deck.

He was not prepared for what he found. The Etherium, which moments ago had been a light blue, was now murky black and fiery orange. Crewmen ran everywhere around the ship, trying to do anything they could. Mr. Arrow was on the deck with them, directing whoever would listen to do whatever he thought would help. Amelia stood on the same level as Mr. Arrow, surveying the disaster. He ran to the rails overlooking the direction they were being pulled and unfurled his spyglass. He gasped as he realized what they were up against.

"The star Permusa…it's gone supernova!"

He made eye contact with Amelia, who didn't waste a moment. "Evasive action, Mr. Turnbuckle!" she yelled, running up to the same level as Doppler.

"Aye Captain!" Turnbuckle yelled from the wheel.

In a moment of clarity, Doppler grabbed his lifeline and tied it around his waist. However, that moment of clarity soon ended as pieces of the star burned through the Legacy's sails. He heard Amelia yell to Mr. Arrow to secure them and she ran past him to give orders to Meltdown to man the laser cannons. The brief moment she was next to him, one thought immediately enveloped his consciousness.

_We are all going to die. Me, Jim, the crew, Amelia, the children inside her, MY children, oh my God, I need to do something, I need to protect them!_

Much to Doppler's dismay, however, his legs remained frozen in place, as did his mind. All he could think about was the impending doom they faced. Amelia ran past him again, but stopped short and turned to him.

"Doctor, if we get out of this alive, remind me that we need to have a chat about something."

She turned to continue running, but Doppler stopped her. "Amelia! Wait!"

"What?" she turned back.

All Doppler could manage to babble out was "The…the children…I…you…"

"Yes, yes the children, I know, Doctor, please do something useful to get us out of this horrid mess!" Amelia yelled and ran to give more orders.

Out of the corner of his eye, Doppler saw someone (was it Silver?) fall from mast and another person (Jim?) leap to grab the rope and pull him back up. He barely had enough time to register what just happened when a momentous wave of heat blew over him. He looked towards the heat and nearly fainted. Right in front of Amelia was a huge meteorite!

Meltdown fired several cannon blasts at it, hoping to break it into smaller, more manageable chunks, but nothing seemed to affect it. The crew quickly evacuated the portion of the ship the meteorite was falling towards.

Then, without warning, the meteorite changed course. Oddly enough, it didn't change course by veering or turning, no, it appeared to stop short, then completely reverse direction as if…as if… Doppler's eyes widened as he grasped what astrophysical phenomenon was occurring.

_It's as if we're being pulled in…_

Onus yelled from the crow's nest, "Captain! The star!"

Doppler ran to Amelia's side to confirm his suspicion. This was one of the rare times he wished he was wrong.

"It's…devolving into a…a black hole!"

Mr. Turnbuckle struggled with the wheel. "We're being pulled in!" he yelled.

And indeed they were. The gravitational pull of the collapsing star was so strong that nothing within the vicinity wasn't being pulled towards the former Permusa.

Mr. Turnbuckle lost his struggle with the wheel and was flung to the deck.

"Oh no you don't!" Amelia yelled, running from Doppler's side to the wheel. She grabbed it and wrestled it back into position, struggling with all her might. Doppler sprinted to her side.

"Amelia, no!"

"What do you mean 'no!'?! Doctor, we're being pulled to our deaths!"

"You mustn't, the children!"

"Oh blast it Doctor! If we don't make it out of here alive there will be no children anyway! Now go man the radar and figure us a way out of this madness!" Doppler did as she instructed.

The Legacy hurtled towards Permusa Former at an astonishing and frightening speed. A wave the black hole put off rocked the ship back slightly, causing almost everyone to lose their footing.

Amelia stayed upright at the wheel. "Blast these waves, they're so deucedly erratic!"

Doppler looked at the radar. _Wait a moment…no, that's impossible. _"No, Captain, they're not erratic at all, there'll be one more in precisely forty-seven-point-two seconds, followed by the biggest magilla of them all!"

An idea lit across Amelia's face. "Of course! Brilliant Doctor! We'll ride that last magilla out of here!"

Doppler looked at her. _I didn't suggest…is that even feasible? Are we actually going to try that?_

"All sails secured Captain!" Mr. Arrow called from the lower deck.

"Good man!" she replied. "Now, release them immediately!"

Mr. Arrow paused, confused. After a moment he replied, "Aye Captain." Turning to the crew he yelled, "You heard her men! Unfurl those sails!"

The crew sent up wails and complaints, but climbed back up the masts. Mr. Arrow followed to assist them. Doppler heard Amelia command Jim to make sure everyone's lifeline was secured. He glanced at Amelia, checking for a lifeline.

Not finding one, he yelled to her, "Captain! You need a lifeline!"

"Doctor, not now!"

All around him, Doppler saw chaos. Men climbed masts and unfurled the sails, ropes flew everywhere, and Jim tightened all the lifelines, which he announced to be all secure. Another wave came up; this one so strong it ripped Amelia off of the wheel and slammed her into the mast behind. She yowled in pain. Doppler bolted to her.

"Amelia are you alright?"

"Yes, Doctor, I'm fine, tell me, when is the last wave coming?"

"Any moment now, but listen to me, when it does come, you'll need a lifeline. I want all of us, and I mean ALL of us, to survive this."

"Tish tosh Doctor, go back to your post, I'm fine!" Amelia demanded, returning to the wheel.

Doppler sighed and went back to the radar. He looked at the screen for a moment then yelled, "Captain! The last wave! Here it comes!"

"Hold on to your lifelines gents, it's gonna be a bumpy ride!" Amelia yelled to the crew.

The last wave was coming. But without a lifeline, Amelia would be thrown from the ship. And Doppler didn't want that, whether or not she was going to have his litter. Desperate for a solution, he grabbed at the spare ropes at his feet to improvise her a lifeline. But before he could reach her, the ship descended into the darkness of the black hole.

A tremor of fear shook through Doppler's body in the darkness. _What if I was wrong? What if I just signed our death certificates? _The anxiety nearly drowned him. _I'm not responsible for only my own life now. Now I need to protect Amelia…and our children. God forgive me if I fail them…_

All of a sudden, a blinding orange light exploded into the sky, sending the ship rocketing out of the vicinity of the hole. Once again, the men were thrown across the ship. In a moment of terror, Doppler's lifeline untied from his waist and he was sent flying backward into a second pile of spare ropes. Tangling in them, he couldn't see what was going on around him, only that the blurs of Etherium he saw now were back to the soft, inviting blue.

He glanced through the ropes at Amelia, who was standing smartly at the wheel. He smiled at her.

Now to find out what she wanted to talk about.


	7. Coping

Hello! Sorry for the lateness of the update, I've been participating in Camp NaNoWriMo, so all my stories have been on the backburner for now.

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Amelia stood calmly at the wheel. She began walking down to the deck to congratulate and address the crew

"Captain, oh my goodness, that was absolutely…that was ..."

"Oh tish tosh. Actually Doctor, your astronomical advice was most helpful."

She walked away as Doppler tried to reply, but wound up muttering to himself.

"I must congratulate you, Mr. Silver. Seems your cabin boy did a bang-up job with those lifelines." She looked out over the rest of the ship. "All hands accounted for, Mr. Arrow?"

Silence. No one moved.

"Mr. Arrow?" Amelia asked again, careful not to let her voice betray her rising concern.

Suddenly, a hissing noise filled the air. Everyone turned to see Mr. Scroop moving towards Amelia. "I'm afraid…Mister Arrow has been lossst. His lifeline wasss not sssecure." He handed Amelia Mr. Arrow's hat.

Amelia turned to look at Jim.

"No! I checked them all!" He ran to the lifeline posts. "I did…I checked them all…They were secure…I swear…"

Amelia immediately felt a wave of nausea and sadness rush over her. In an attempt to stave off the oncoming tears, she furrowed her brow.

After a moment of stunned silence from the crew, she spoke again. "Mr. Arrow was a…," she cleared her throat. "A fine spacer. Finer than most of us…could ever hope to be." She swallowed back her tears. "But he knew the risks, as do we all. Resume your posts. We carry on." With that, she turned and walked slowly up the stairs and back to her cabin.

"Captain…" she heard Delbert call after her. She chose to ignore him though, and instead shut the door. All the emotion immediately poured out of her at once, and she slid down the door and crumpled into a heap on the floor. She sobbed louder than she had ever sobbed before and tears cascaded down her face.

A soft rapping came from outside. "Captain…it's me."

Amelia didn't answer. _Please Delbert not now…_

The rapping continued. "Amelia, please, let me in."

Amelia stood and yanked the door open. "Doctor," she responded, wiping her eyes furiously. "Please, come in." He did so, and she shut the door behind him.

"Amelia, I…I'm sorry."

With that, she broke into tears and sobs again. "Delbert…I…I can't…"

"You can't what?"

"I can't do this…this voyage…these babies… I can't do any of this…"

"Yes you can Amelia. You are one of the strongest and most intelligent l women I know, you can do this, I believe in you."

Amelia continued to cry. "No, I can't, Arrow was my only friend, I told him everything, I told him about the litter, he said…he said he'd be there for me, and now he's not and he never will be again and I don't know what to do…"

"Sh… Amelia, it's alright. I'm here." Delbert wrapped his arms around her.

"It should have been me."

With that Amelia attempted to wrestle out of Delbert's arms. He grabbed her tightly when he realized that she was trying to bolt for the window. "No Amelia. It should not have been you. This wasn't your fault. This wasn't anyone's fault. Amelia, please."

She stopped struggling. Delbert let go of her so she was facing him. "A..Amelia. You are strong. You need to continue, push on. Mr. Arrow would have wanted it that way."

Amelia collapsed into Delbert's chest. "I know. It's just, how do we know if we're doing the right thing?"

"We don't. But that's life." He paused, and cleared his throat. "Amelia…I don't know if this is the most…the most proper time to say this, but…A..Amelia Smollett, I…I love you."

Amelia looked up at him. Then, Delbert did something that he had never done while he was sober. He kissed Amelia softly. Their lips met and for a moment, Amelia forgot about what had happened. Then, in another flash, she remembered and pulled away.

"What are you doing Doctor?"

"C…Captain?"

"Mr. Arrow has just died, and you kissed me?!"

"I..I'm sorry Amelia, I don't know what came over me, I didn't mean to…I'll be going…"

"No, Delbert, please stay. At least for tonight."

Delbert led Amelia to her bed and, for the first time since the conception of their children, they spent the night together, wrapped tenderly in each other's' arms.

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Please Review!


	8. Aftermath

**Author's note: **My word. I am so sorry. This is so incredibly late. I apologize. I love my readers so much, I hate to think I've upset them!

Please review…please?

* * *

Almost a week had passed since Arrow had died. Although, any passerby wouldn't have been able to tell from the way the ship was carrying on. Despite the initial shock and confusion caused by the disaster of the supernova and Arrow's death, a few days later, the ship was back to nearly normal working order, with Mr. Turnbuckle assuming Mr. Arrow's place.

Doppler had announced earlier that week that according to his calculations, due to the solar energy involved in the supernova, the Legacy had been propelled toward Treasure Planet. Nearly a month had been shaved off of their journey. That seemed to improve the crew's spirits in a much more boisterous manner than it should have. Rather bizarre. Doppler made a small mental note of it, but quickly forgot it to focus his attention on Amelia and how she was doing.

Speaking of her, she was standing on the deck, looking out into the Etherium. Her back was to him, she stared out in the stars, giving no indication she knew he was there. He stood near the cabin door, careful not to disturb her.

"Doppler, you know I know you're behind me," Amelia said, without turning around.

Doppler gave up the charade of going undetected. He walked up to the deck beside her. "I know. Nothing gets past you, does it?"

"I'm a Felinid. Nothing's supposed to be able to."

He chuckled. "Oh…well… good on you then." He looked out into the Etherium. He swallowed a lump in his throat before asking "How are you?"

"Can't complain. The nausea has mostly gone away, but the cramps have gotten considerably worse. I suppose that means that they've started growing."

Doppler took off his glasses to wipe a smudge off the lens. "No..no..I meant…although that is good that they're growing…I meant how are you…emotionally?"

Her right ear twitched. She sighed. "Getting along. Some days are better. Some days are worse."

"How much worse?" Doppler glanced over to her.

"Not nearly as bad as the first night, if that's what you're worried about."

Doppler exhaled with relief. After the first night, they agreed that, to continue to keep up their secret, they would not meet nightly as they had before Mr. Arrow's death. But, that didn't stop him from walking her to her quarters each night to make sure everything was in order.

"You don't have to worry about me, you know."

"I'm not worried."

"Please, doctor, I may be pregnant, but I'm not blind. I can see you checking the locks on my windows.

Doppler scoffed. "No I don't."

Amelia raised her right eyebrow and crossed her arms. She looked at him with a face that suggested saying 'I am a hormonal pregnant woman. We are standing on the deck of a ship. I could easily pitch you out into the Etherium if I so desired.'

Doppler blushed. He had been found out. "Fine…I am worried. But to be fair, you did try and jump to your death."

Amelia stood silent for a moment. "Touché," she replied. "But you really don't have to be concerned. I wasn't thinking nearly as clearly that night as I am now."

"Well, he had just…died. No one was expecting you to be perfectly alright. Honestly, I think the crew is even more afraid of you now. They expected you to have been an absolute wreck and beside yourself. And when you weren't, it really shocked them."

Amelia laughed silently. "That's not who I am. I was raised in a military home, emotions were not the norm. Besides, that's not how Arrow would have wanted it."

Doppler looked at her, confused. _Your best friend didn't want you to mourn his death?_

"He would have wanted me to carry on with the voyage. That's how he always was. Always one to continue on, regardless of the setbacks. He was that way when we lived together, and was that way right to his death."

"The two of you lived together?" Doppler asked, fiddling with the cuff of his shirtsleeve. _This is new information…_

"Oh tish tosh Delbert, only for a week. It was our first year at the Academy, they mistook my name for my brother's. That's how we met, actually. He just opened the door, and there I was. Took the dormitory office a whole week to realize and pull me out of the all-boys dorm, but by then, we'd become fast friends. Lucky for us, we stayed that way for the rest of our time at Academy. We never fought, and he was always happy to congratulate me on my accomplishments, and I his. Imagine how thrilled we both were when we were assigned to the Legacy."

Doppler smiled. "A rather fortuitous mistake, if I may say so.

Amelia sighed and smiled. "It really was."

They looked out into the Etherium.

"He really was a wonderful man."

"Mhmm."

"I told him about our situation a few days before his death."

"And? What happened?"

"At first, he was confused, but, after I explained what happened, he was very sympathetic. He told me he would be there for me. Should we decide to keep them, of course." A tear rolled down her cheek, which she flicked away. "But, I told him that wasn't going to happen. There's no conceivable way."

"No conceivable—Amelia, Captain, don't you see, there _is _a way!" Delbert bust out without a second thought.

Amelia stared at him. "Delbert, what are you talking about?"

"There is a way! A way for us to keep the children, and be together! I could stay with them, continue teaching, take leave when you are out voyaging, return when you return, and it will all work out. You'll see…"

"Delbert, have you gone mad?!"

"Maybe I have. But don't you agree that what I have proposed is a valid option?"

Amelia looked at him. She blinked, and her eyes flicked away out to sea. "No. No, Doppler. It's not."

Doppler was stunned. _Why did she switch back to our old way of addressing one another…? What is she talking about? _ "Wh…what do you mean?"

"I mean that it is never going to work. Between us. With these children. I'm sorry. I know that's what you want. But…but…I can't do it. It's not what I want. I'm sorry." With that, she turned, and ran to her stateroom.

In her wake, she left Doppler, staring in disbelief. He looked down at the deck and sighed. _Amelia…I still love you. But if this is what you want…this is the way it must be, as much as I wish differently._

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Please Please Please Review! I am crawling back to my readers on hands and knees!


	9. A Curious Development

I am back in the saddle and writing groove again! WOOHOO! Thank you for everyone who's following this little story, especially the fabulous Umbre0n!

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Amelia buried her face in her arms on her desk. She didn't expect toughing it out by herself to be this hard. She looked around her stateroom. Garbage littered the floor. Papers piled high. The window hung open, a soft breeze blew through it, ruffling the pages of the books laying around.

For all intents and purposes, it was a perfect day for sailing. Clear skies, gentle breeze, cawing gulls. Every spacer's fantasy voyage. But this was anything but Amelia's fantasy voyage.

She had spent the past week miserably attempting to run the Legacy, keep the rowdy-and-growing-rowdier crew in line, and maintain her health and the health of the children. But, it had not gone well. Eventually, she relinquished nearly all of her duties to Mr. Thornbuckle, except for the keeping of the map and keeping the Legacy on course. That she left in Dr. Doppler's capable hands.

Speaking of him, he hadn't come to visit her since their last meeting. Yes, he did speak to her when they came across each other through the day-to-day operations of the Legacy, but he didn't walk her to her quarters like he had before. At first she thought it was just a temporary absence; he was taking time to adjust to his new position on the ship and his new duties. But, after two weeks of no accompaniment, she began to worry. And after the third week, she accepted that he wasn't coming back.

_And why should he? You told him you didn't love him! That you didn't want his children! That you thought it would be impossible for you to live with him; he's probably furious with you, or at the very least in no hurry to associate with you ever again. _

Amelia rubbed the inner crevices of her eyes. Her stomach gurgled. She had made a horrible mistake. She was in the most difficult position of her life, and she had driven away the one person who was still alive who knew about it.

_How could I have been so stupid…? Doppler loves me. He has said time and time again that he will take care of and provide for both me and the children. He was there for me after Arrow's death, when no one else was. He has cared for me obsessively these past four months. Why did I ever—_

Amelia's train of thought was abruptly interrupted. Something had moved inside of her, right next to her lower left rib. For a moment, she was concerned. Was something wrong with the babies? It wasn't nearly time yet, she still had three months to go. Premature labor this early was rare, Doppler said. Rare, but not impossible. And that was the last thing she needed. Worried, she went to the door to go find Doppler.

_Wait a moment. Get yourself back in order, Captain. Take a step back and think straight._

She was four months along. That's when most Felinids began to show. And when the fetuses began to move. She had seen her mother go through this twice, with her younger twin siblings. This was normal. No need to get flustered and raise alarms among the crew.

Another movement, this time near her lower abdomen, pulled her from her thoughts once more. She looked down her small bump. Hard to believe that four months ago, there was nothing there. Now, she had at least one, probably more, small children growing inside her. With a man that, had she met him before the voyage, she wouldn't have given a second glance.

Almost on cue, there was a knock at the door. Amelia straightened out her hair and jacket, then opened the door, ready to receive whoever was on the other side.

"Hello?"

"G…good afternoon Captain."

Amelia blinked. Doppler stood in the doorframe, wearing the same reddish-brown coat he always had, hair pulled back in the same style as when they first met. But he was different. His eyes were duller. Blue-purple rings hung under his eyes, and he looked as if he hadn't shaved in a week. He looked like a devastated, broken man.

"Doctor…please, come in."

Doppler nodded and crossed the threshold into her quarters. "What is it, Captain?"

"Please, Delbert…call me Amelia."

Doppler blinked, confused, obviously thrown by the sudden change in address. "Of course…Amelia," he said, pronouncing her name slowly, as if it was a new flavor he wanted to savor. "What is it? Is something wrong?"

Amelia smiled. There was the old Delbert. "No, nothing's wrong…come over here."

Still confused, Doppler obliged. Amelia took his right hand, and placed it on her stomach. She waited a moment. Nothing. Doppler looked at her with a mixture of confusion and anxiety. Then, when Amelia was about to give up, remove his hand from her abdomen, and apologize for wasting his time and get down to business, they moved. Four small flutters, each from a relatively different spot, nudged through her and to Doppler's hand.

Doppler was taken by surprise, she could see that easily. His eyes widened. The light returned. "They…they're kicking. Amelia, this is wonderful. When did this start?"

"Only a few moments ago. The first was up here," she gestured to the spot, "and the second was here," she gestured again, "and now there were two more. I suppose that means that there are four of them in there."

Doppler smiled. "Right on schedule. They're developing properly.

"Astounding, considering the position we're in. The Legacy is not the most ideal place to carry out a pregnancy."

"Amelia, this is…amazing. I dare say it's a miracle. I've never witnessed anything so spectacular."

Amelia laughed. "Delbert, I highly doubt you'll think that when we get a good look at Treasure Planet."

Doppler looked at her for a moment. Then, he exclaimed, "Of course! That's what I came down here to tell you about, I almost forgot! Treasure Planet is within our sights! Onus spotted it a few minutes ago. We should be docking planetside by nightfall."

Amelia smiled. Another successful voyage. She just wished poor Arrow was here to see it. "Delbert…there's something I have to tell you, something we have to talk about."

"What is it?"

"It's about the children…"

Before she could finish her sentence, a knock came from the other side of the door. "Now, who could that be?" she asked, partially to herself, partially out loud to Doppler.

"I'm not sure. When I came down, the crew was practically hanging off the rails on deck, trying to get a glimpse of Flint's Trove."

"Hm." Amelia opened the door. "Mister Hawkins? What are you doing here? I thought you of all people would be first in line to get a look at Treasure Planet."

"Yeah, yeah, it's pretty cool. But we have to get out."

"What are you talking about?" Doppler asked Jim.

"The crew. They're mutinying."

* * *

Oh yeah. Now it's getting good.

Please Review!


	10. Mutiny

Hello hello! Very happy to be back!

Unfortunately, I've run out of the parts of Treasure Planet on Youtube. So the next chapters are going to be a bit slow, while I find a way to watch the parts that aren't up. Seriously, after Jim finds BEN, Youtube just stops with the Treasure Planet clips.

Anyway, please read and review!

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"Pardon?" Amelia asked. She wasn't sure if she had heard the cabin boy correctly.

"Jim, wha-what do you mean?"

"The crew's mutinying. They're pirates."

"P..p…pirates?! As in sp-space pirates?" Delbert fumbled as Amelia went to her gun closet.

"Pirates on my ship? I'll see they all hang!" She opened the closet and found what she was looking for. Pistol. Laser. Six shots per charge. Not the ideal, but circumstances did not warrant discretion. She cocked it and tossed it to Delbert. "Doctor, familiar with these?"

Delbert caught the pistol. "Well… not exactly..I've seen, er, I've read…"

The pistol fired a blue and orange laser. The globe mounted next to the closet exploded into shards.

"No. No. No, I'm not."

Amelia rolled her eyes and sighed. If they survived it would be a miracle. How fitting she should die like this. But not without a fight.

"Mister Hawkins. Defend this with your life." She tossed the map to him. If anyone had the best chance of protecting them, it was him.

Rather unluckily, Silver's pink blob snatched it out of the air. Jim yelled at it and struggled to regain it, stuffing it in his back pocket.

But Amelia's attention was now on the door to her stateroom, which Jim had pulled shut and locked upon arrival. It was splintering and fizzling. Clearly the pirates must have broken into the arms-room and were now trying to laser their way in. There was no time to lose.

"Follow me!"She snatched her rifle from the closet. Before they could question her, she fired a shot into the floor, blowing through it to a hallway below deck. She leapt through it and set off running, Delbert and Jim following closely behind. She heard an explosion, which only could have been the pirates blowing through the door. A few moments later, a chorus of footsteps rang out after them.

She turned down the hall to the door leading into the longboat dock. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Hands, Longbourne, and several other crewmen chasing after Delbert, who was at the back of the pack.

For a moment, she feared that he wouldn't make it. Her chest seized up slightly. _Please Delbert…_

Delbert, at the last moment, jumped through the doorway, landing flat on his stomach in front of her. She yanked him out of the way and slammed the door closed, barely hearing him yell "Thank you!" over the noise.

_Huh. Surprised I can still do that. _

But she didn't have time to marvel for long. Knowing the crew, a flimsy wood door and unenforced metal lock would be easy pickings for them. She pulled out her laser rifle and fired it at the lock, welding it into a mass of hot iron. It wouldn't stop them, but it would slow them down enough to escape. "To the longboats, quickly!"

Her two shipmates nodded and ran to the closest boat. Holstering her gun, Amelia went to the lever. She tried to operate it. It didn't budge. For a moment, she was confused. _Why isn't…_

A small nudge reminded her of her new center of gravity. Quickly, she readjusted and tried again. This time, the lever yielded, and she pushed it down with a small grunt. The hatch cracked open.

Amelia heard the pirates running down the hall. Not waiting for the hatch to open completely, she ran to the longboat where Delbert and Jim waited. She grabbed the side of it and jumped in, doing a somersault as she did so. She landed and cocked her rifle, ready for the pirates who were already burrowing their way through the door.

She glanced over at Delbert and nearly laughed in spite of herself. He looked as if he had just witnessed the impossible.

"What? Pregnant women can't do flips?"

He babbled something incoherent. Poor man must be going into shock.

"Morph! No!"

Amelia and Delbert turned to see what had happened. Silver's blob had stolen the map, and Jim jumped back onto the landing docks to chase after it. But their attention was soon drawn back to the door. The pirates who had been chasing them broke through with an ear-splitting crack. Within a minute, they swarmed the room, blasting their guns at full power.

Ready for attack, Amelia fired back on them. "Chew on this, you pus-filled boils!" she yelled as the blue from the lasers and the orange from the laser impacts lit up the rom and threatened to set the Legacy ablaze. Delbert cowered next to her. Not preferable, but not unexpected either. After all, he was a man of learning, not of doing. But had he known how to shoot a pistol, his help would have been gladly appreciated. The pirates were advancing fast, and she couldn't take them all on her own. She ducked behind the longboat's mast to recharge.

Suddenly, Delbert stood, gun raised. Before Amelia could think as to what he was doing, he fired. The laser cut across the dock, severing the chain keeping one of the ship-weights secured to the ceiling. The weight fell, decimating the wooden walkway and sending the pursuing pirates falling out into the Etherium.

Amelia looked at Delbert surprised. "Did you actually aim for that?" she asked, equal parts sarcastic and serious.

"You know actually I did!"

Before she could decipher if he was bluffing, she saw a laser fire at them out of the corner of her eye. Quickly, she yanked Delbert down under the cover of the longboat. Not a moment too soon, a barrage of blue hit the hull.

Amelia peered over the top, trying to assess how many there were. Among them, she saw Mister Silver. _ Of course. I should have guessed that blasted Cyborg was a pirate…_

Silver smiled evilly at her. He pulled the switch back up, and the hatch began to close.

"Ah blast it!" There wasn't time to scramble out of the longboat to reactivate the switch. Desperate, Amelia looked around the dock for other means of escape. Her eyes fell on the pulley system keeping the boat in place. _That's it!_

"Doctor, when I say now, shoot out the forward cable, I'll take this one."

Delbert nodded and readied himself, although it was obvious he was keeping an eye on the young Mister Hawkins.

"Don't worry, we won't leave him behind."

"I wasn't thinking that Captain, I…"

"Don't be daft, of course you were."

"Fine." He paused, lasers going off around them. "Captain?"

"Yes?"

"What was it you wanted to talk about?"

"Delbert, this isn't the best time."

"Oh. Yes. Of course."

Not a moment too soon, Jim leaped at the longboat.

"Now!" Amelia fired her rifle.

Delbert fired his pistol. The ropes snapped and the boat fell, tilting slightly against the closing hatch. Lucky for them, the ship continued out of the Legacy's docks at an alarming speed.

"Jim!" Delbert exclaimed, pulling him up into the ship. Just as well, Jim was the one with the map after all.

Amelia yanked out the sails. There was no time to lose. The sails quickly filled with air. She went next to the control panel, ready to make a speedy getaway. "Parameters met, hydraulics engaged…" Once everything was adjusted properly, she grabbed the metal tiller and sped towards Treasure Planet.

All was going well when suddenly she heard Delbert yell, "Captain! Laser ball at twelve o'clock!"

She yanked the tiller sharply towards her, hoping to narrowly avoid it.

No such luck. The laser ball collided with the sail. Amelia lurched forward. She felt a sharp pain, heard a crack, and realized all four babies were moving at once. Something was wrong. Something broke.

But she didn't have time to worry about that now. The longboat still needed steering. She grabbed the tiller again, wrestling with it and the pain in her arm and her side. The boat hurtled toward Treasure Planet, barely avoiding bouncing off a large, tree-like fungus.

Amelia's vision was cutting out. Through the blurry inkiness she could see Delbert holding on for his life and Jim looking back at her, concerned.

Vision nearly gone, she couldn't avoid the fungus in front of them. They burst through it, hurtled toward the ground, skipped like a stone against it, then flipped over, front-first, and continued skidding before coming to a stop.

It was then Amelia lost consciousness.


	11. Injury

I did it! I found a copy of the DVD! Thank you for everyone who offered to help me continue the story, it means a lot!

Also, for those who wonder where I got my idea for this story, part of it stemmed from the moment between Doppler and Amelia at 54:09.

* * *

Doppler opened his eyes. He couldn't believe it. The crew… they were pirates. They mutinied. And now he, Amelia, and Jim were marooned on Treasure Planet. Flint's Trove. The Loot of a Thousand Worlds. The biggest legend in spacing. He sat up in amazement and nearly missed whacking his head on the bottom of the longboat.

"Doctor? Mister Hawkins?"

"Captain?" Jim answered.

"Get this tub off us. I want to see where we are."

Doppler nodded (although it would have been impossible to see him do so) and, along with Jim, grabbed the longboat's edge and hoisted it up. They pushed it over on its side.

Suddenly, the enormity of the situation hit him. "Oh my goodness…," he muttered aloud. "That was…more fun than I ever want to have again."

He heard Amelia chuckle behind him. "Not one of my gossamer landings…"Doppler hand to snicker to himself. _After all that's happened she's apologizing for the landing!_

A yowl pulled him from his thoughts. He turned and saw Amelia doubled over in pain. "Captain!" He ran to her and got on his knees. He placed a hand on her back, which was unnaturally stiff. Something was wrong. Something terrible.

He took her left arm and Jim took her right in an effort to help her up. She brushed them away and proceeded to stand on her own. "Oh don't fuss," she commanded them.

_Well…she is standing on her own…I suppose that's a good sign…_

Not a moment after, she wobbled and fell back. Luckily, Doppler was there to catch her. He caught onto her arm, stabilizing her, and instinctively placed his other hand on her stomach. He felt his four children moving about inside of her very fast, along with possible bleeding. That would have to be checked out as soon as possible.

She brushed him off again. "Slight bruising, that's all. Cup of tea, and I'll be right as rain." She looked over at Doppler. He could see that her eyes were a bit cloudy and unfocused. "Mister Hawkins?"

Doppler was taken aback. Amelia was most definitely not alright. He looked at her left hand, which she placed behind her back. It was balled into a fist.

She quickly realized her mistake and turned to Jim, who was also quite concerned. "The map, if you please."

Jim fished through his pocket and pulled out the map. Suddenly, it began floating in the air, which was quite odd. Within moments, the map transformed before their eyes into the pink gelatinous being that Mr. Silver kept with him. And so help them, it was laughing!

"Morph!" Jim yelled at it. "Morph, where's the map?!"

To which the creature responded by transforming and showing the map being hidden in a coil of rope.

"Are you serious?! It's back on the ship?!"

It flitted around Doppler and Jim, oblivious to the trouble it was causing. _Blasted thing…it's going to be the death of us yet…_

"Stifle that blob, and get low." Doppler turned to see Amelia holding her rifle and moving toward the longboat. "We've got company."

Doppler scanned the sky. She was right. Another longboat sailed over them, this one filled with pirates. Without a second thought, he and Jim dived under the boat with her. They waited for a few tense moments, until they couldn't hear the craft's hydraulics. Then, Amelia checked the surroundings, then turned to them. "We need a more defensible position." She stood, bracing herself on her rifle. She picked up Doppler's pistol from the ground. "Mister Hawkins," she commanded, handing it to him. "Scout ahead."

Jim took the pistol and nodded. "Aye Captain."

Amelia let out another yowl and fell. Doppler jumped towards her. He caught her and lowered her to the ground. "Steady…steady…now, let's have a look at that." He watched Jim was out of eyesight, then turned all his attention to the captain. "Amelia!"

"I told you, don't fuss about me; I'm fine." She tried to get herself back onto her feet, but struggled and gave up.

"You are most certainly not fine! That blast was a lot for anyone to take," he lowered his voice in case Jim was still around, "much less a pregnant woman. You need medical attention at once!"

"Yes, Doppler, please, tell me, where on this deserted place is an infirmary?"

Doppler looked at her. It was obvious that the pain was getting worse. "Where does it hurt?"

"Pardon?"

"I need to examine your wound. I need to know where to look."

Amelia closed her eyes, mentally trying to locate the spot. With her right hand, she motioned to her entire torso, specifically, her left-side ribs. In doing so, she let out a groan of pain.

Doppler went to unbuttoning her uniform jacket. He worked swiftly, time was of the essence. _And after all, it's nothing you haven't seen before…_ He pulled away the jacket. Just as he feared. Her undershirt was covered in blood, all flowing from a wound spanning her left ribcage. "Amelia."

No response. He broke into a cold sweat. Without her conscious, he wouldn't be able to tell if something was wrong with her. Or the babies… "Amelia?!" he asked again, voice rising.

"You…you seem to have suffered a great industry to your ribcage…I can temporarily patch it, but nothing permanent…" Frantically, he searched his mind, looking for something to keep her awake. "How…how are the children? Can you still feel them?"

"Still moving…two of them keep fighting with one another…the others are moving, but on their own, just floating by themselves…"

"Of course…I want you to tell me if anything changes."

"Believe me, you will be the first to know."

They sat for the next hour in near silence. Periodically Amelia would groan and try to shift to a more comfortable position. When that happened, Doppler was there, helping her move and whispering words of comfort to her. "It's okay…I'm here, I'm going to do whatever I can to keep you safe…here, let me…" and the like. But when he wasn't helping her, he was on high alert. There was no way he could defend them from attacking pirates, but he may as well not give them the luxury of a surprise attack.

Another hour passed. Doppler engaged Amelia in small talk to try and keep her awake. He found out she was the oldest girl from a family of six, had a penchant for mystery novels, and had attained the highest rank in Canthian Martial Arts when she was a sophomore at the Academy. She allowed him to ramble on about his younger sister's recent marriage and astrophysics. As they went on, he could tell that she was exhausted from all the ordeals she had endured on this voyage.

At the end of that hour, she was asleep. Just as well, she would need her strength. Doppler took her rifle and kept careful watch over her. He placed his hand on her stomach while he was making up her temporary patch and sling out of an old cravat of his, and she, in her deep sleep, did not stir. He counted the movements he felt. Four. All accounted for.

He looked at Amelia's wound. The laser had made a huge, deep gash in her side, and he could see her bottom rib, which was broken nearly in half. He looked closer, and reeled back, nearly making himself sick. Maybe he was just imagining it…but he could have sworn he saw one of the babies through Amelia's uterus. It was a boy, a Canid, almost the spitting image of Doppler himself. And he was dangerously close to the broken rib. Taking a deep breath, Doppler reached into Amelia's side and manually reset the rib. Once he was satisfied that the rib would not fall back, he wrapped the gash in half of his old cravat, and used the other half to wrap up her arm. But, all his mind could focus on was what he had seen. How amazing it was. A miracle, he daresay, although his line of work did not facilitate the beliefs in such things. His son was so small. So much potential, just floating inside the body of the woman he loved. Waiting for the day he would enter the world.

Doppler swallowed a lump in his throat. He couldn't help worrying about the rib. Had it caused any damage? To any of them? If it had…how much? Could it be remedied? In fact, had anything that transpired on the voyage affected the children? He felt tears brimming in his eyes. _It's not going to do anyone any good if you keep thinking that way._

Suddenly, he heard a noise. Readying the gun, he peered over the hill…and came face-to-muzzle with Jim. "Jim!"

"Doc! I found a place for us to hide."

"You did? Where? How?"

"BEN," he replied, gesturing to a mossy robot behind him. "He lives in some kind of pod…thing. It's about an hour away from here. Get the captain, we've got to go now, it's getting dark."

Doppler went over to Amelia. The last thing he wanted to do was wake her. She was so peaceful and pain free, he didn't want to bring her back to the pain. Gently, he picked her up and followed Jim and BEN.

The hike to BEN's was filled with the robot's incessant chatter, but Doppler paid no attention. Instead, he focused more intently on Amelia, who had begun stirring in his arms.

"Doctor?" she asked, waking about halfway into the hike. "Are you carrying me? Where are we going?"

"Yes, I am. We're going to shelter. Don't worry, I've got you. Rest."

She burrowed into his chest and was silent. Doppler looked around at his surroundings. Incredible. The ecosystem of this planet seemed to consist primarily of tall, fungus-like trees. Not an animal or sentient life form in sight. Only green for miles. Occasionally they came across a skeleton, presumably of Flint's old crew. But those were few and far between.

Amelia moved against his chest, and he felt the children stir inside her. He could have sworn that they were also trying to be closer to him. He shifted her to his other arm, trying not to bump her bandaging.

By the time they arrived at the robot's home it was nearly dusk. Doppler's muscles were sore, but he didn't dare think about putting Amelia down.

"Ah, pardon the mess, people, you'd think in a hundred years I would have dusted a little more…,"BEN rambled as they entered his house. "But you know, when you're a bachelor, you tend to let things go…Aw...isn't that sweet?"

Doppler entered the house still carrying Amelia. He took her to a bizarre mound in the floor. She looked up at him, signaling that everything was still fine. Meanwhile, the robot babbled on. "I find old-fashioned romance so touching, don't you?" He whisked around to them, holding a tray of some kind of bubbling liquid. "How about drinks for the happy couple?"

"Oh, uh…"Doppler got a good look at the drinks, which looked to be some mixture of oils. Definitely not fit for human consumption. "Thank you…we don't drink. And we're not a couple," he finished, removing his jacket and glancing at Amelia. She looked back at him with an expression that was a blend of amusement and calling him a liar.

_Wait. Did I just imagine that? Is Amelia…looking at me fondly? _He cleared his throat, and glanced up at the ceiling, getting his first good look at it. "Look at these markings. They're identical to the ones on the map. I suspect that these are the hieroglyphics remnants of an ancient culture." He bent down and rolled his coat into a pillow for Amelia to sleep against.

"Mister Hawkins, stop anyone who tried to approach," Amelia ordered and slumped forward in pain.

"Yes, yes, now you listen to me," Doppler cut in, placing his coat behind her head. "Stop giving orders for a few milliseconds, and lie still." Gentler still, he laid her back on the mound and took her hands, trying to get her to relax. Surely working herself up like that was not good for the children, who were probably already in a state of distress.

"Very forceful Doctor. Go on, say something else." They smiled at each other. Any outsider would have seen a couple very much in love.

"Hey look!" BEN yelled by the doorway. "There's some warrior buddies! Hey fellas! We're over here fellas!" The moment he opened his mouth, lasers filled the air, all firing at them. Doppler pulled Amelia up into a hug, shielding her with his arms. Jim yanked the robot back into the pod, then reemerged to fire back at the pirates.

Doppler looked out at the scene. The pirates were everywhere. There was no escape. They were going to die here, in a loud, unfair firefight. Then, a voice cut through the chaos. "Stop wasting your fire!" Doppler knew that voice. Silver. Of course, why hadn't he seen it before?

"Hello up there!" the Cyborg called. "Jimbo? If it's alright with the Captain, I'd like a short word witcha. No tricks! Just a little…"

"Come to bargain for the map, doubtless. Pestilential…" Amelia squirmed and winced in pain.

"Captain…"Doppler cut in again, quieting her. He hated addressing her like that. It felt so condescending.

"That means," Jim pondered. "That he thinks we still have it."

After a quick bargain to settle meeting terms (no weapons and no other people, which Doppler thought was absurd. _As if a pirate would hold up the terms._)Jim was out speaking with Silver. Doppler couldn't make out specific words, but after several minutes, the discussion turned into an argument. Jim returned to the group in a huff, along with Morph.

"He said to give up the map, or he'll blow us all up."

Amelia's eyes widened. "But…we don't have it."

"The pirates don't know that though."

Night fell. Amelia's breathing became more ragged. Doppler never left her side. He couldn't. Not for the entire treasure that was supposedly somewhere on this planet. Not even for one doubloon of it.

"Gentleman…we must stay together…and…and…" she struggled to speak, eyes rolling out of focus the same way they had been for the past half-hour. She let out a sigh and her eyes closed.

"And what?! What?! We must stay together and what!?"Doppler yelled, trying desperately to keep her awake. _Please…Amelia, don't leave me, stay with us, please…_

She opened her eyes and focused on his face. "Doctor…you have…wonderful eyes." And just like that she was gone again.

Doppler turned to Jim, horrified. "She's lost her mind!"

"Well, you gotta help her!"

"Damn it Jim! I'm an astronomer, not a doctor! Well I am a doctor but I'm not that kind of doctor, I have a doctorate, it's not the same thing, you can't help people with a doctorate." He looked down at Amelia. "You just sit there and you're useless!" He pressed his hands to the side of his head, trying to keep control. He was failing. Totally, utterly, and miserably failing.

He felt Jim's hands on his shoulders. "It's okay, Doc…it's okay."

Doppler shook his head. It was most certainly not okay. It was less okay than Jim could even understand. The robot said something, but Doppler wasn't paying attention. Instead he went back to doting on Amelia. He moved her hair, dripping with sweat, from her forehead. He would need to watch that…it could turn into a fever from infection. _How could I ever let this happen to you, Amelia? I am so sorry._

Jim pulled him from his thoughts. "Hey Doc! Doc! I think I found a way out of here!" He looked up to see Jim standing over what appeared to be a hole in the ground.

"No, no, Jim, wait, the Captain ordered us to stay here…"

But it was too late. Jim, Morph, and BEN jumped down the chute, leaving him alone with Amelia. Frustrated, he uttered the worst expletive in the Canid dialect.

"Woof."

* * *

Just a fair warning, the next two chapters are going to be fairly intense. Emotionally. And a trigger warning for the chapter two chapters after this one: the pirates (primarily Silver, since I don't know who exactly is still alive) are going to verbally and physically harass Amelia and Doppler, primarily Amelia.


End file.
